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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 was an exceptional love letter to not only a quintessential skateboarding legend but the video games his unbelievable feats spawned. While the sport has seen generational growth, many remember the first time they saw Tony land the 900, a trick we’d be so eager to replicate in-game for decades. When Vicarious Visions was folded into a larger cog within the Activision-Blizzard machine, it seemed unlikely we’d ever see a similar celebration for the third and fourth games in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. The rumour mill suggested such a project had been cancelled altogether.
So, when it was revealed that Iron Galaxy had developed Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 using the bones of the remakes that preceded it, it seemed like a fever dream. Having missed the original PlayStation generation, my nostalgia for the series began with Foundry, a dark and gloomy opening that saw us grind vats full of liquid metal, bathe a foreman in a cooling bin, and climb to lofty, unsafe heights, for that elusive secret tape. I’d played it and Canada, the game’s second level, countless times, and just like Tony Hawk’s 1+2 before it, it felt like setting foot into a time capsule.
Although I’d describe the remakes of the first two games as more faithful, I’d describe these as more reimaginings of two classics. The structure, for the fourth game especially, is as great a departure as it could be, and even player progression is delivered differently when compared to the original pair of remakes. They’re changes that might not please all comers, but at the end of the day, the meat and bones of the game—that “Tony Hawk feel”—remains untouched and is as good as ever.
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There’s a reason why Tony Hawk’s games have been the pinnacle of extreme sports games throughout time; they forced an entire sport and lifestyle into the zeitgeist, where it has remained for decades. Unlike more recent contemporaries, like EA’s Skate, these games have always had a more arcade feel; they’re about pulling off the impossible in a sport where simply hopping on a board is hard. In a way, through its clever level design and time-attack setup, Tony Hawk is most akin to a platform game. Finding the right line through any stage, and the right order to tackle the objectives at hand, becomes something of a puzzle, and I find the core loop as irresistible as ever.
What’s best is that most goals aren’t built around being able to put a huge score on the board, which many might struggle with. Using the skating tools at your disposal, which is a coalescence of every new modifier added throughout the series, whether it’s reverts or skitching, you’ll tackle a zany selection of goals—some returning from the originals, some newly implemented by the developer.
It’s been a point of discussion that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4’s open-ended format has, through a deliberate design choice, been abandoned in favour of the series’ traditional two-minute runs. It’s a move that’s sure to rub traditionalists the wrong way; however, I think for the sake of a consistent experience, it was the right move. It’s been noted before, but they’ve included a game mod this time around that lets you extend a run’s timer from the default couple of minutes out to a whole hour, which can help replicate the feel of cruising Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4’s quasi-open world. They’ve also taken a rather liberal approach to repurposing certain levels, like Kona, which had at one stage been voted the franchise’s worst level. This time around, it’s used as a competition stage, which, given the frustration around its goals way back when, again, feels like the right move to learn from the past and create a much better player experience.
I paid special attention to Waterpark after previewing the game a couple of months ago, and I do believe it’s worth reiterating how great all of the new, original Iron Galaxy stages are. It might sound like a slight to say they fit right in within a decades-old game, but it’s not how I mean it. There’s a classic feel to each of them, especially Pinball, that should serve as the team’s expression of interest to develop a new entry in the franchise one day.
I’m in two minds about the changes to player progression this time around. The lack of player level is certainly a time-respecting move to eliminate unnecessary grinding; however, I don’t love how they’ve locked so many of the so-called “endgame” things behind layers and layers of mode completion. As a moderately decent player, not having expert challenges available to me from the beginning is somewhat frustrating.
Even more disappointing is the player customisation. For a game that has a great creation suite otherwise, the options for dressing up your avatar are bafflingly limited. There are a couple of dozen preset faces that range from odd to pretty odd, and there are strange omissions, such as glasses, that feel like a step backward from the last release. I expect it’s something they’ll correct over time, perhaps even going so far as to build out the clothing shop with more staple brands, but the create-a-skater offering at launch feels lazy.
The game’s roster is a mix of returning legends and fresh faces within the sport, and as before, all those in the old guard are rendered as the old dudes that they are. Not only do all of the characters and returning maps look great with the improved textures and lighting, but the game also performs exceptionally well and maintains a rock-solid frame rate throughout. I’ve heard of dips on certain platforms, but I certainly haven’t noticed any while playing on Series X. Due to licensing, presumably, we don’t see a lot of the memorable hidden skaters, such as Spider-Man or Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie, return. With the Doom characters locked behind a paywall, Michaelangelo, the Ninja Turtle, not the painter, is about as exciting as it gets for secret skaters, and that’s a bit of a shame.
Similarly, the soundtrack feels like a mix of recognisable hits from the original games and alternate tunes from certain bands who clearly couldn’t relicense songs previously featured, for example, Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” is cut in favour for the, in my opinion, lesser “2 Minutes to Midnight”. Most of the new tracks, such as “Kick, Push” by Lupe Fiasco and “Ultimate” by Denzel Curry, are in keeping with the franchise’s vibe, which has never been one to get locked down to a single genre.
It’s hard to push past some of the glaring omissions, however. This collection’s soundtrack comprises only about a fifth of the songs on the original track lists. The lack of AC/DC will certainly be a dent in the bogan armour of certain players, and as an unabashed Alien Ant Farm apologist, losing “Wish” is also a bitter pill to swallow, considering the band has since expressed their surprise at not being involved. I will concede, however, that the tracks that have stood in for those missing are still great.
All in all, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 even existing feels miraculous. It’s a series that has long been near and dear to me, and I’m glad these classic titles can now be enjoyed by another generation of gamers. Whether all the right moves were made in emulating and bringing the experience across is debatable, and I think it’s a mix of good and bad, but unquestionably, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is a worthwhile celebration of the skateboarding games we all grew up with.
